Alice Pearce

Pearce was born in New York City, the only child of Margaret Clark and Robert E. Pearce.{{cite web|title=Alice Pearce|url=http://www.tvland.com/shows/bewitched/bios/alice-pearce|publisher=TV Land|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131112092245/http://www.tvland.com/shows/bewitched/bios/alice-pearce|archive-date=November 12, 2013|access-date=November 7, 2015}} Her father was a foreign banking specialist, and her family moved to Europe when she was 18 months old.{{cite news|last1=Misurell|first1=Ed|title=Her Life Is Filled with Sorcery|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-daily-american-alice-pearce-her-life/169661114/|access-date=July 6, 2017|work=Daily American|date=April 5, 2025|page=10|via=Newspapers.com}} {{free access}} They lived in Brussels, Antwerp, Rome, and Paris.{{cite journal|title=Finally the Center of Attention|journal=TV Guide|date=December 25–31, 1965|volume=13|issue=52|pages=13–14|issn=0039-8543}} At age nine, she fell off a swing after losing her grip and landed on her chin; this incident left her with an underdeveloped chin.{{cite news|last1=Shearer|first1=Lloyd|author-link1=Lloyd Shearer|title=Alice Pearce: The Chinless Wonder|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1955&dat=19641011&id=PhkrAAAAIBAJ&pg=3156,5192532|access-date=September 27, 2014|work=Reading Eagle|date=October 11, 1964}} She returned to the United States as a teenager and boarded at the Masters School in Dobbs Ferry, New York. She graduated from Sarah Lawrence College in 1940 with a degree in drama.{{cite news|title=Alice Pearce|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1873&dat=19660304&id=Fm0eAAAAIBAJ&pg=2298,490703|access-date=September 27, 2014|work=Daytona Beach Morning Journal|agency=Associated Press|date=March 4, 1966}}

She began working in nightclubs as a comedienne and was cast in the original Broadway production of On the Town (1944–1946). Gene Kelly was so impressed by her that she became the only cast member to be included in the film version in 1949.{{cite book|last=Green|first=Stanley|author-link=Stanley Green (historian)|title=Hollywood Musicals Year by Year|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XD2xNKSN3E8C&pg=PA156|access-date=October 3, 2015|year=1999|publisher=Hal Leonard Corporation|isbn=978-0-634-00765-1|page=156}} Her comedic performance was well received by critics and public alike. She was given her own television variety show, The Alice Pearce Show.{{cite book|last=Terrace|first=Vincent|title=Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2010|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YX_daEhlnbsC&pg=PA525|access-date=October 3, 2015|edition=2|date=November 6, 2008|publisher=McFarland & Company|isbn=978-0-7864-8641-0|pages=25, 252, 525}} More movie roles followed, and she made appearances on Broadway where she met her husband, director Paul Davis, during a production of Bells Are Ringing.

During the 1953–1954 television season, Pearce was seen regularly on ABC's Jamie, which starred Brandon deWilde. In 1964, Pearce was originally approached to play the part of Grandmama in the ABC television comedy series The Addams Family. She turned down the part, which went to veteran actress Blossom Rock. Later that year, Pearce joined the cast of Bewitched as the nagging and nosy neighbor Gladys Kravitz. Pearce's scenes were almost entirely reactions to the witchcraft she had witnessed at the house across the street. Her hysterical accusations against Samantha, played by Elizabeth Montgomery, and the disbelief of her husband Abner (George Tobias) provided a common thread through many of the series' early episodes. She played the role until her death in 1966 and was replaced by Sandra Gould.{{cite news|title=Sandra Gould Played Gladys Kravitz|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1683&dat=19990728&id=4P8cAAAAIBAJ&pg=2582,2635507|access-date=September 27, 2014|work=Milwaukee Journal Sentinel|date=July 28, 1999}} Pearce was posthumously awarded an Emmy Award for this role. Her husband accepted the award on her behalf.{{cite news|last1=Handsaker|first1=Gene|title=Miss Stanwyck, Cosby Are Top Performers|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2209&dat=19660523&id=YawrAAAAIBAJ&pg=2736,2401294|access-date=September 28, 2014|work=Nashua Telegraph|agency=Associated Press|date=May 23, 1966}}

Pearce was married twice. Her 1948 marriage to composer John Rox lasted until his death in 1957. In September 1964, she married stage manager Paul Davis, with whom she remained until her death. They owned Pesha's Framing Shop, an art gallery and framing store, in West Hollywood.{{cite news |title=Comic Dies of Cancer |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-arizona-republic-obituary-for-alice/65549200/ |access-date=April 5, 2025 |work=The Arizona Republic |agency=UPI |date=March 4, 1966 |page=38 |via=Newspapers.com}} {{free access}} Davis died in February 1984.{{cite news |title=Davis, Pesha Paul |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-los-angeles-times-pesha-paul-davis-o/169660454/ |access-date=April 5, 2025 |work=Los Angeles Times |date=February 23, 1984 |pages=15 |via=Newspapers.com}} {{free access}}

Pearce was diagnosed with terminal cancer before Bewitched began. She kept her illness a secret, although her rapid weight loss was quite evident during the second season of the sitcom. She filmed her last episode, "Baby's First Paragraph," on January 21, 1966. Pearce died from ovarian cancer less than two months later on March 3, 1966, at age 48. She was cremated and her ashes were scattered at sea.{{cite news|title=Terminal Illness|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2202&dat=19660319&id=ijomAAAAIBAJ&pg=2135,3583774|access-date=September 28, 2014|work=The Gettysburg Times|date=March 19, 1966}}{{cite news|last1=Manners|first1=Dorothy|title=Alice Pearce Chose Happiness|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/21145484/the_indianapolis_star/|access-date=June 21, 2018|work=The Indianapolis Star|date=March 9, 1966|page=23|via=Newspapers.com}} {{free access}}

{{reflist}}

{{Portal|Biography}}

{{Commons}}

• {{IBDB name}}
• {{Tcmdb name}}
• {{IMDb name}}

{{EmmyAward ComedySupportingActress 1950-1975}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pearce, Alice}}

Category:1917 births

Category:1966 deaths

Category:20th-century American actresses

Category:20th-century American singers

Category:20th-century American women singers

Category:Actresses from New York City

Category:American film actresses

Category:American stage actresses

Category:American television actresses

Category:Deaths from ovarian cancer in California

Category:The Masters School alumni

Category:Outstanding Performance by a Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series Primetime Emmy Award winners

Category:People from Dobbs Ferry, New York

Category:Sarah Lawrence College alumni

Category:Singers from New York City